4WD Roads to Outback Colorado: Pass Patrol Recollections Volume Four

After moving to Colorado in 1984, I began boldly going where I had never gone before in the Colorado mountains and in the Utah deserts. I created a club consisting of others who enjoyed exploring scenic and historic locations. Initially, there were only about a dozen of us in what became known as the Pass Patrol 4x4 Travel Club. Eventually, 100 families joined in one fashion or another.

In 1985, I published two guide books in a series called the Adventures of Pass Patrol. That series eventually expanded to seven volumes. Although I ended that series in 1999, those products were available for many more years.

I sold the rights to publish the Adventures of Pass Patrol in 2006. The people I sold it to were not successful and the business folded. Fortunately, I only sold the rights to that one series. I retained the right to republish everything in that series under a different name.

That was then. This is now. Welcome to “Pass Patrol Recollections.” Volume Four
Pass Patrol Recollections is an attempt to give life back to stories that are fading into history. Some will say the stories from that time were tales, and often referred to as fictional. No doubt they were embellished. The description we used around the campfire was. “Every story we tell has a spark of truth in it somewhere.”

They were intended to be entertaining and not entirely factual. The only fact was that each time they were told around the campfire, they changed a little. The stories included here are much the same as when they were first published.

Be aware that many photos used in the original publication are no longer available. In those days, there were no digital cameras within the budget of a lowly freelance writer. You will find that some photos are different than in the original guide books. That means you will see vehicles pictured that were not yet built when the stories were written. Although they may be different they are still on the trail being featured.

Navigation in Pass Patrol Recollections is different from the first printing. In those days, GPS units were very inaccurate. By referencing Google Maps, Topo USA, and other software, we have attempted to reconstruct the navigation charts. Even for the stories that did not previously have GPS.

Odometer/trip meter readings can vary a lot from yours. We used a variety of vehicles in getting these figures. Tire sizes and level of tire inflation caused them to all read differently. Use the odometer readings as a reference but do not rely on them entirely.